Hello dearest readers!!  Most of you know I looove to cook.  It is a tremendous passion of mine!  I enjoy cooking dinners nearly every night of the week and for me the entire process, from building a recipe to shopping for ingredients to stirring in that last sprinkle of kosher salt, is simultaneously inspiring and relaxing.  I derive so much pleasure from preparing a delicious meal and savoring it! I’ve shared recipes here and there on this blog, but I wanted to start a new cooking feature.  It will be a fun way to share scrumptious, seasonal recipes with all of you… things that I’m actually cooking and enjoying!  🙂  Although this blog was created to primarily showcase my work as a wedding planner and designer, I love connecting with my readers over things I love.  I hope some of you will try out this recipe and let me know what you think!

The cooler temps always make me crave soup, and soup is always a satisfying one-pot meal.  I brought out my Le Creuset dutch oven (mine is in “ocean,” a moody gray blue that is exclusive to Williams Sonoma) and get to chopping veggies.  This soup is simple to prepare and is hearty, comforting, and of course… utterly delicious!  This isn’t an original recipe, but one based on a potato-bacon-gruyère soup from Epicurious.  I added the kale and made a few other changes to the ingredients + quantities, so what you read below is how I actually prepared the soup (not how it is written by Epicurious).

{ingredients}

• 2 TBS of butter for sautéeing your onions + another 2 TBS for your roux
• 4 pieces of bacon (or pancetta, prosciutto) —
• 1-2 medium yellow onions (I used a Maui sweet onion), finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 32 oz. of chicken broth (I used organic, low-sodium broth from a carton, but homemade would be better!)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour (I use unbleached AP flour)
• 1.5 lb of Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into approx. 1″ cubes
• 1/2 lb of shredded Gruyère (yum!!!) — you’ll end up with a bit over 2 cups of grated cheese
• 6 cups of fresh chopped kale (I cut away and discarded the stems)
• Kosher or sea salt + Fresh ground pepper to taste
• Dash of worcestershire sauce
• Dried or fresh herbs to taste (sage, thyme, basil — I played around for the right balance)

{preparation}

1. In your large saucepan/dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat, turning halfway, to a crisp.  Remove from saucepan, drain on paper towels, and crumble.  Set aside.
2. Add butter to the bacon grease and over medium heat and add the chopped onion.  Cook for approx. 8 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent. Return crumbled bacon to the pot.
3. Add minced garlic and continue to stir (you don’t want burned garlic — it is utter nastiness) for about 30 seconds.
4. Stir in the broth and water.  Bring to a boil.
5. Add chopped potatoes and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.
6. In a small saucepan melt 2 TBS of butter, and slowly add flour little by little, whisking it together to create a pastey roux (thickener for your soup).  Add to the soup slowly, stirring gently to fully integrate.
7. Simmer soup, covered, for 10 minutes.
8. Pull out your blender and ladle 3 cups of hot soup out of your pot, into the blender.  Add the gruyère and purée with the hot soup.  Return it all to your pot. Now you have the smooth, blended potatoes, as well as some still solid potato “chunks.”  🙂
9. Add chopped kale and stir.  Let simmer 5 additional minutes.
10. Add a dash of worcestershire sauce, herbs + salt and pepper to taste.
11. Serve and enjoy!  🙂

yum!

Hope you’re all having a fabulous weekend!  See you again soon!! 🙂  xoxo, Angel